1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector provided with a side retainer.
2. Description of the Related Art
A side-retainer type connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,722 and also is shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 herein. This connector has a plurality of cavities 1 formed in a housing 2. A retainer 3 is inserted into the housing 2 in a direction normal to the cavities 1 and can be held at a partial locking position, as shown in FIG. 20, or a full locking position, as shown in FIG. 21. Terminal fittings 4 can be inserted into the cavities 1 when the retainer 3 is at the partial locking position and are partly locked by locks 5 of the housing 2 upon reaching proper positions. The retainer 3 then is pushed to a full locking position and locks 3A of the retainer 3 engage steps 6A at the rear edges of rectangular tubes 6 of the terminal fittings 4. As a result, the terminal fittings 4 are locked doubly. A terminal fitting 4 may be inserted insufficiently. In this situation, displacement of the retainer 3 to the full locking position is hindered by contact of the lock 3A with the rectangular tube 6. Therefore, an operator can detect insufficient insertion of the terminal fitting 4.
Some terminal fittings are small and steps at the rear end of the rectangular tube are not sufficiently strong for engagement by the side-retainer. Thus, a retainer engaging projection is formed at the rear of the rectangular tube for engagement by the lock of the retainer. The retainer will engage a side of a terminal fitting that is inserted insufficiently and the retainer will be unable to move to the full locking position. Consequently, an insufficient insertion can be detected.
Terminal fittings may be left only lightly inserted and the retainer engaging projections and the locking projections will not interfere with each other. Thus, the retainer may be displaced to or near the full locking position if pushed strongly, and there is a possibility of not properly detecting the insufficient insertion of the terminal fitting.
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can detect an insufficient insertion of a terminal fitting even if the terminal fitting is left at a lightly inserted position.
The invention is directed to a connector with a housing that has cavities for receiving terminal fittings and partial locking means for locking the terminal fittings. A retainer is mountable in the housing and is displaceable between a partial locking position and a full locking position. Partial locking means and/or full locking means may be provided for locking the retainer in the partial locking position and/or the full locking position, respectively. The terminal fittings are insertable into the cavities when the retainer is at the partial locking position. However, the retainer engages projections on the terminal fittings that have been inserted to their proper positions in the cavities when the retainer is at the full locking position to lock the terminal fittings in the respective cavities. Each terminal fitting comprises an insufficient-insertion detecting projection before or adjacent the retainer engaging projection and adapted to interfere with the retainer and to hinder a displacement of the retainer from the partial locking position to the full locking position when the terminal fitting is inserted insufficiently in the cavity. The retainer also may comprise at least one lock that can engage both a step and the retainer engaging projection of the terminal fitting.
The insufficient-insertion detecting projection interferes with the retainer while the retainer is being displaced to the full locking position even if the female terminal fitting does not reach the position where the retainer engaging projection interferes with the retainer. Thus, insufficient insertion can be detected even when the female terminal fitting is inserted only slightly.
The partial locking means preferably comprises resilient locks on the terminal fittings or the housing. The locks and the retainer preferably are on the same side of the cavities. Accordingly, dead space is avoided and the connector can be made smaller by narrowing the intervals of the cavities.
The retainer preferably comprises at least one jig insertion opening for allowing insertion of a jig to unlock the partial locking means when the retainer is in the partial locking position.
A sealing plug preferably is mountable in a chamber at the rear end of the housing. The sealing plug hermetically engages both the wires that extend into the housing and the inner surface of the chamber. However, the sealing plug conceals rear ends of the terminal fittings, and hence the terminal fittings are likely to be inserted insufficiently. Nevertheless, insufficient insertion can be detected by the insufficient-insertion detecting projections.
The housing may have a laterally aligned retainer insertion groove that communicates with the cavities. The insufficient-insertion detecting projection and/or the retainer engaging projection preferably are in the retainer insertion groove when the terminal fitting is inserted insufficiently.
The housing is formed with a groove that receives the insufficient-insertion detecting projection and/or the retainer engaging projection to stabilize the terminal fitting and to ensure proper insertion orientation.
A packing may be provided on the housing for sealing a connection of the connector with a mating connector. The packing may be held by the retainer so as not to come off the housing.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are described separately, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.